Left winger, GOP congressman cross the aisle

Newport Beach lefty Jamie Dow and conservative Rep. John Campbell, R-Irvine, embodied the call to set partisanship aside - at least for a few days. I ran into Dow on Monday at Campbell's Washington office, where he went to pick up his inaugural ticket.

Campbell distributed most of his 198 inaugural tickets by lottery. Dow was one of 3,500 Campbell constituents to throw his name in the hat - but he didn't win.

Then a winnowing process began, starting with a requirement that winners come by Campbell's district office and show valid identification if they wanted to be on the list to pick up tickets in Washington.

"That was to weed out the scalpers, and a few people dropped out," Campbell said.

A few more dropped out when they couldn't secure hotel rooms, and a few more for other reasons. In the meantime, Dow had made arrangements with other friends to make the trip to Washington - tickets or no tickets. And Dow contacted Campbell's office again, letting Campbell's staff know that while he didn't win the lottery, he was going to the inauguration anyway and would welcome a ticket if one came up.

The subject of Dow's politics never came up. Dow, 26, said Barack Obama was only the second candidate he'd ever voted for who won - and that he'd voted in every election since he turned 18.

"I look through the voters pamphlet and look for the most socialist or the most unknown candidate," said Dow, an SAT tutor whose long blond hair falls over his shoulders.

A ticket from Campbell finally came through. And when he picked it up Monday, he also asked Campbell to pose with him for a photo.

A moral of this story might be something like, "If you set your mind firmly on a goal, you can achieve that goal." But the postscript offers a twist reminiscent of Somerset Maugham.

Dow was determined to see Sunday's concert on the Mall and headed out early in the morning to stake out a good seat, even though his friends said they were staying behind and might catch up later. By the time his friends, also from Orange County, checked out the Mall scene, it was super packed. They went to lunch in Georgetown instead. The woman at the next table started up a conversation and turned out to be actress Jessica Alba. As his friends told me the story outside Campbell's office, it seemed clear that Dow thought his friends had the better day. Especially since Alba ended up video taping the friends talking about Obama, to post on her Web site. (Read the story about meeting Alba here.)

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.